NellieBly413672: Glad you liked it and thanks for the review. There's going to be more cute moments this chapter too. Enjoy!
Meadow567: lol, yeah they did. Thanks for the review and I hope you like this chapter too.
A/N: Sorry it took me so long to get this up. I don't have school, but it seems like I was even busier with Christmas. Anyway, here it is and thanks again for the reviews.
Two days after Valentine's Day, the guys had a game against Norway. They were still pretty high off their upset win against the Czechs, so they went into the game confident and excited. Their fans were excited as well.
Hannah was in the stands with Lexi, Kelly, and Mark's parents. She was also sitting near the McClanahan's, the Eruzione's, and Jimmy's dad. It was nice being able to meet the guy's friends and families that were at the games. It was especially funny watching Kelly when she met Mac's family, because it was really awkward.
"This is Mark's sister, Kelly," Ali finished off, introducing her daughter to the McClanahan's. Kelly had been talking to Hannah, so she hadn't heard that the couple was Mac's parents.
"Nice to meet you Kelly," Mrs. McClanahan said, speaking for herself and her husband.
Kelly shook her hand, then asking, "I'm sorry. I didn't catch whose parents you are."
"Robbie's," the mother answered.
"Oh, okay," Kelly said, blushing a little, and wondering if she knew anything about her son's Valentine's Day date. Kelly told her parents, only because they wouldn't leave her alone about it, but she hoped her mom would keep her mouth shut.
Between the second and third period, Kelly was holding Lexi on her lap and talking to Hannah when she heard her mom and Mac's mom whispering and laughing.
"What's so funny?" Kelly asked, having heard her name.
"Nothing," they both answered.
"I heard my name," Kelly said.
"I was talking to Mrs. McClanahan," Ali reminded her daughter.
"Yeah, about me!" Kelly replied. Now Mac's mom answered Kelly.
"Robbie had a lot of fun the other night," she told Kelly. Kelly blushed.
"It was nothing. We hung out instead of being alone. What's the big deal?"
Unfortunately for Kelly, both mothers were typical moms. They went on to talk about how cute it was that they went out; acting as if Kelly weren't there or couldn't hear them. Kelly rolled her eyes. They were treating it like Mac and Kelly had a grade school crush or something.
A minute later, Mac's dad, who heard the two mothers talking, commented. "So Kelly's the reason Mac has been on cloud nine recently," he stated.
Now Kelly blushed more. And she wasn't sure if Mac's dad was joking or not. Was he upset? Was it a good thing? Did he think Kelly was distracting Mac from hockey? It was hard to tell what Mac's dad meant. Hannah laughed a little at Kelly's situation.
"Don't you go laughing at me too!" Kelly warned her. "The date wasn't that cute. They're acting like we're in the fourth grade!"
"I'm laughing because the whole situation is funny and awkward." Then Hannah leaned toward Kelly and whispered, "And it would be even more awkward if they knew what Mark and I found when we went to pick Lexi up."
"Don't you dare say anything!" Kelly said in a harsh whisper.
"I won't," Hannah smiled. "But you better hope Lexi doesn't either."
A few minutes later the third period began, putting everyone's comments about Kelly, Mac, and Valentine's Day to a rest. With five minutes left, the U.S. was still winning, and five to one at that. After that, the intensity picked up. It was almost as if Norway thought they could score four goals to tie it in five minutes. Not that that was impossible, it was just highly unlikely.
With just over three minutes left, everyone was watching the puck when Lexi, who was watching Mark, shouted, "Daddy fell down!" In an instant, the game was stopped, as everyone else realized what had happened. Lexi always watched Mark instead of the puck, and she therefore saw the cheap shot on him.
"What happened?" Kelly wondered out loud.
"That was cheap!" someone sitting somewhere behind them shouted. Others in the crowd joined in shouting too. Luckily, one of the refs had seen Mark get hit, and now Team USA was on the power play.
While the penalty was being given, Doc rushed onto the ice to check on Mark. A hush fell over the crowd, waiting for Mark to get up.
"I hope he's okay," Hannah said, obviously worried.
"It looks like he is moving around a little bit," Kelly said, though also worried about her brother.
"Is Daddy okay?" Lexi asked, looking up at her aunt.
"Yeah, sweetie. He'll be okay," Kelly said, kissing Lexi's head, though at the moment, not convinced herself.
"Come on, Mark, get up," Hannah whispered, as she heard the arena commentators talk about the terrible possibly that Mark was injured.
"If Mark Johnson's injured, this could be a crushing blow to the US team. He's been an amazing playmaker and goal scorer throughout the games so far, really stepping in when the team needed it the most." Hannah tried to block the comments out as she watched and hoped her boyfriend was okay.
After what was only a minute or so, but what seemed like an eternity, Mark was helped up and skated off the ice. Hannah noticed that Mark didn't go to sit on the bench, but instead went into the locker room with Doc. She was trying to figure out what he injured. Seeing that he didn't need help skating off the ice, it probably wasn't a leg injury. Hannah also reasoned that if Mark hit his head, someone would be helping him skate off the ice as well. She hoped she was right and that Mark didn't hit his head. But the injury was obviously bad enough to send him to the locker room immediately.
The last three minutes of the game were awful. Hannah couldn't stop worrying, no matter how much everyone told her that Mark was probably okay. As soon as the final buzzer sounded, Hannah left her seat and practically ran down to the locker room. She was so worried, especially because Mark didn't even stay on the bench to watch the game. Trying to be optimistic, Hannah decided that he probably went to the locker room immediately because there were only a few minutes left anyway, and the team was already up by four.
Hannah knew she couldn't go into the locker room without waiting a few minutes, and she knew she might not be allowed in anyway. Lucky for her, the wait wasn't too long. Herb came out to speak to the press, and noticed Hannah waiting.
"He'll be okay Hannah. His shoulder did get banged up, and he may have a slight rotator cuff injury, but Doc thinks he'll be okay to play in the next game."
Hannah breathed a sigh of relief. When Mark's family made it down a few minutes later, Hannah told them exactly what Herb just told her. They didn't have to wait long for Mark to come out of the locker room.
Hannah immediately ran over to hug him, but was careful not to get too close to his injured shoulder. "I'm glad you're okay," she said. Then she stood on her tiptoes and reached over the hockey bag on his good shoulder to kiss him.
"I wish I got greeted like this after every game," was his response before he gave Hannah a quick kiss back.
"Herb said it was a minor injury?" Hannah said, questioning the story Herb told her.
"Yeah, I'll be fine. It hurts, but with a day to rest up, I'm sure it'll be fine. I'm just mad Doc's making me wear this sling."
"Daddy you got a booboo?" Lexi asked.
"Yeah."
"The mean man pushed you down. I saw it!" Lexi said.
"Yeah, he sure did," Mark said.
"That wasn't nice. Next time you should hit him with your stick so he falls too."
"But that's against the rules," Mark told her. "And I'd get a penalty."
"So? He was mean first," Lexi said. "He did something against the rules too."
"Yeah, that's why we got the power play."
"Yep, and he had to sit in that little box," Lexi said, matter-of-factly, proud that she knew something.
"Let's get going," Mark said, not wanting talk about the game anymore right then, and pointed toward the exit. Lexi then stopped and turned around.
"Can I have a piggy back ride?"
"Does it look like I can carry you?" Mark asked rhetorically. With his bag in one hand, and an injured shoulder, there was no way he could carry his daughter.
"I'll carry you," Mark's dad said, picking her up and tossing his granddaughter in the air a little. Lexi giggled.
"Do that again!" she squealed. As Mark's parents and Lexi headed out, Hannah and Mark followed behind.
"Are you coming?" Mark asked Kelly before going through the doors.
"Go ahead without me. I'll catch up," Kelly replied.
When the couple got back to Mark's room, Lexi was getting ice cream with her grandparents, Hannah was attempting to make Mark comfortable.
"I'll get you some ice for your shoulder," she said. "You should ice it at least a little while tonight. Take some ibuprofen too so it doesn't hurt as much."
"Hannah, thank you, but I'm fine. It doesn't hurt that much, and I think I can even take off the sling," Mark said, beginning to remove the sling.
"Don't you dare take that off! If Doc's making you wear it, it must be necessary."
"Hannah, I promise if my shoulder hurts I'll put it back on. Until then, it's coming off."
"Fine, but don't move your arm around too much. You need to be well enough to play in the next game."
"Okay, Mom," Mark said, rolling his eyes.
A few minutes later, Hannah brought a bag of ice over to Mark.
"Here's some ice. Now let's get you out of these clothes and ready for bed." Hannah began pulling up Mark's shirt to help him take it off. She knew it would be hard with his injured shoulder.
"Oh, you're going to undress me. I like it," Mark joked.
"Shut up," Hannah said, giving him a slight push. As Hannah did this Mark grabbed her arm and pulled her closer. He kissed her lightly at first, before deepening their kiss. Hannah pulled away.
"You're injured. There's not going to be any of that!"
"Can't I just kiss my girlfriend?" Mark asked innocently.
"No, because we both know where kissing leads…"
"We've made out a million times without doing anything else," Mark reminded her.
"Yeah, but guys and sex is like… girls and chocolate. You think you're okay without it for a while, but then you have a little taste, and suddenly you can't get enough."
"So you're comparing me to your obsession with chocolate now?"
"No, I'm comparing chocolate to sex."
"So you'd rather have chocolate than sex?" Mark challenged, waiting for Hannah's response. He was surprised with the answer.
"Yeah. Most girls would," she said easily. Mark thought she was sort of just teasing him though.
"Okay. But you should know I feel a little insulted now... chocolate taking priority over me. I think you need to make it up to me," Mark said in a suggesting tone.
"I already told you not tonight!" Hannah said. "Anyway, Lexi will be back any minute."
"Who said making it up to me would involve moving my shoulder? I can be good and stay still… and I know you're just as good at other things too…" Mark hinted. "Things that would let my injured shoulder stay pretty still…" There was a knock at the door.
"Told you Lexi would be back any minute," Hannah said, jumping up to answer the door.
"It's me!" Lexi announced as Hannah opened the hotel room door.
Hannah laughed when she looked at the cute little girl. "Mark, you daughter's already on her way to liking chocolate better," Hannah said, adding to their previous conversation. Lexi must have had chocolate ice cream, because it was all over her shirt. Mark looked over and smiled.
"Good. I'm going to make sure it stays that way," he said.
"Sorry about the mess," Mark's dad apologized. "You know how kids are with ice cream though. More gets on them than goes in the mouth."
Hannah just laughed. "Well, thanks for taking her."
Mark's dad talked to his son a few minutes to make sure his shoulder was okay. You could still tell that Bob had some of the coaching in him, because at the same time that he was concerned for his son, he was thinking about the game and how everything would turn out. He left a few minutes later though. "See you three tomorrow," he said as he left the room.
"Lexi, get your pajamas on and get ready for bed, please," Mark told his daughter, from his position lying on the bed. Lexi obeyed and after finding her pajamas, went into the bathroom to get changed and ready for bed. "I guess we'll have to make this fast," Mark said, taking Hannah's arm and pulling her close, ready to kiss her. "It'll take her about five minutes before she comes out of the bathroom," Mark explained. Hannah just laughed, knowing he was surely joking now. He wanted to see her reaction.
"I promise we can have a make out session after Lexi goes to bed, but first I'm gonna help you get out of your clothes." Hannah helped Mark with his shirt, carefully taking his injured shoulder out of the arm and then lifting the shirt over his head. "Do you want a shirt on for bed?" Hannah asked him.
"Nah, it'll be too hard to put on."
"It's no problem. I don't want you to be cold. Constant cold is probably bad for your shoulder too."
"It's warm enough in here. Plus, I have a beautiful girlfriend that will keep me warm," Mark said, catching Hannah's lips in a kiss.
"I'm not staying tonight," she told him.
"You have to," Mark said. "Please?"
"Nope. You need rest."
"I'll sleep much better with you here."
"Lexi's here too."
"So? She saw Mac and Kelly sleeping together the other night."
"I'll think about it," Hannah said.
"Besides, what if I need help with something in the middle of the night?"
"Oh please," Hannah said with an exasperated sigh. "Ten minutes ago, you were completely fine and didn't even need the sling."
"Ten minutes ago, my girlfriend was acting like my mom. Now she's offering to undress me. I'm going to take that kind of service when it's offered. And if I'm lucky, I might be able to convince her I need help in the shower tomorrow," Mark said, talking about Hannah.
"You'll need to be really lucky," Hannah commented, as the hotel room door was opened.
It was Mac, and not so coincidentally, Kelly. Mark knew Kelly's presence, and appearance with Mac wasn't a coincidence like she was going to make it seem.
"I decided to stop in to see how you were when I ran into Mac in the elevator," she explained.
"Uh huh," Mark said, not really listening to her explanation. He had to hold back from making a sarcastic comment.
"Aunt Kelly, are you having a sleepover over here tonight?" Lexi asked sweetly, having just come out of the bathroom.
"No. I'm leaving. I wanted to make sure Hannah was taking good care of your Daddy."
"Is Mac sleeping over at your room?" Lexi asked.
"No!" Kelly and Mac replied simultaneously, surprised that Lexi would have even asked that.
"Told you she picks up on things," Mark told Hannah. "Now will you stay?" Hannah rolled her eyes.
"Lexi, do you think it's normal for boys and girls to have sleepovers?" Kelly asked her niece.
She shrugged. "I guess. But I don't know why. Boys in general are gross."
"Your dad's a boy," Mac said.
"Daddy's aren't gross. Boys are gross," Lexi repeated, like there was a difference between the two.
The topic of conversation was quickly changed and a little while later, Kelly was ready to leave.
"Well, I'm gonna get going. I'm really tired."
"I'll walk you to your room," Mac offered.
Mark knew that something was definitely going on. The normal Kelly would have yelled at Mac for even offering, let alone would she have allowed it.
"Hannah, how come you don't sleepover with Daddy like Aunt Kelly and Mac do?" Lexi asked. "You two are really good friends too. Daddy's your boyfriend."
"Well, maybe I will tonight," Hannah told the little girl, now seeing a smile on Mark's face.
The next morning, Mark, Hannah, and Lexi were at breakfast when they were trying to decide how to spend their day. The guys didn't have a game that day, so after a short practice they would have the day off. Later that evening the guys were going as a group to watch speed skating. Eric Heiden was on his way to a third possible gold. There was talk he might even be able to break the record for gold medals in the Olympics. It was sort of funny too, because Mark was good friends with Eric since the first grade. They grew up in the same neighborhood and went to the same school until high school, when Eric went to a private school. Even then, the two remained friends, and now they were both in the Olympics.
As Mark and Hannah were discussing their plans for the day at the table, the waitress came over to take their orders. Lexi ordered first. She ordered an omelet. Actually, she pointed to the picture of one, which looked really appetizing.
"Is that okay with your Mommy and Daddy?" the waitress asked, thinking that some kids don't like eggs.
"She's not my Mommy," Lexi said. "Hannah is Daddy's girlfriend."
"Oh, okay," the waitress said, looking embarrassed for her assumption.
"Aunt Kelly says that if Daddy and Hannah get married, Hannah will be my new Mommy," Lexi said. This made Mark choke on the water he was drinking.
"When did Aunt Kelly tell you that?" Mark wondered.
"Yesterday. I asked her why I couldn't call Hannah, Mommy."
Hannah, sensing things were a little awkward, concentrated on her menu and wouldn't look at Mark. The waitress cleared her throat, wanting to give the group the hint she needed their orders.
"Sorry," Mark said, the waitress having got his attention. "An omelet would be fine for her. With ham and cheese. I'll have one too, but with ham, cheese, and peppers. Plus a side of bacon."
"I'll have the same as him," Hannah said, still trying to avoid looking at Mark.
Finally, the waitress left, making things a little less awkward. Hannah felt a little better without her hearing them talk about the topic Lexi brought up.
"Why can't she just go along with what other people say?" Mark wondered out loud about his daughter, smiling at Hannah to show her their conversation didn't have to be weird at all. "Sometimes I wish Lexi was really shy and didn't like talking to strangers."
"Why?" Lexi asked.
"Because you talk too much. And you tell people things that aren't any of their business."
"But Aunt Kelly was telling the truth. She said I can call Hannah 'Mommy' when you have a wedding. And she said I could be in it," Lexi added with a smile.
"Aunt Kelly doesn't get to decide who's in my wedding. I do," Mark said, hoping to end that conversation.
"Hannah gets to too," Lexi said. "It's the girl's wedding more."
"Who gave you that idea?" Mark asked while Hannah laughed a little.
"Daddy, it's the girl's wedding more because she wears the dress."
"What if I wore a dress?" Mark asked.
Lexi laughed at the idea. "Daddy, you can't wear a dress! You're a boy!" Mark just looked at Hannah and shrugged. Then Lexi brought the conversation back to the wedding specifically. "So when can you get married?"
Mark looked at Hannah, who was again, trying to avoid looking at her boyfriend. Mark grabbed her hand to get her to look at him.
"Lexi sweetie, I love Hannah very much, and I hope that she will be your Mommy someday." Mark said this with a smile, looking at Hannah, who smiled back. Mark continued, "But right now, we're taking one thing at a time. We have too much to think about like the Olympics and moving to Pittsburgh." This satisfied Lexi for now, and she didn't have anymore questions.
Just after the three began eating, Lexi had another question.
"When you get married will I get a baby brother or sister?" Lexi asked. This time, instead of choking on water, Mark choked on a piece of bacon and Hannah choked on her water. They looked at each other, silently asking one another where she came up with that. "I know what you're thinking," Lexi said, almost sounding like a mature pre-teen or something. "But Aunt Kelly and Mac told me all about that."
"Oh Lord," Mark muttered under his breath, wondering what Kelly told her now. And, if Mac was in on it, he knew he had a reason to worry.
"Aunt Kelly told me I could only get a baby if you two loved each other," Lexi said, making it seem like a sibling would be her baby. "And if you love each other, you get married. But after that what happens? I don't believe in the stork, Daddy. I know the baby grows in the Mommy's tummy."
"Really?" Mark questioned, thinking the stork was totally plausible for a four-year-old.
"Really. Where do babies come from?"
"Uh, well, um…" Mark stuttered, not knowing what to tell her.
"I'll take this one," Hannah offered.
"Be my guest," was Mark's reply.
"Babies are born when two people love each other a real lot. God decides that the people love each other enough to put a baby in the Mommy's tummy."
"Since you and my Daddy love each other, can't you have a baby now?"
"No, because the Mommy and Daddy need to want one first."
"Don't you want one?"
"Someday," was Hannah's simple response.
"When?" Lexi asked.
"I don't know. When I'm ready."
"So a baby's like magic?"
"Sort of," Hannah admitted.
"How come God knows if the people love each other?"
"They kiss a lot," Hannah said.
"Even more than you and Daddy kiss?" Lexi asked in a surprised tone, almost like it was impossible to imagine.
"Way more," said Mark, winking at Hannah.
"Then why doesn't OC have a baby?" Lexi asked innocently. This question made Hannah and Mark laugh hysterically, in part because of Lexis innocence, and in part because it was a perfectly good question that no one ever asked OC before. How did he not wind up with a kid already?
"Why don't you ask him later?" Mark suggested.
Later that night the guys went speed skating like they planned. Lexi stayed with Hannah and Kelly, who were going skating in the Olympics Village. It was nice that the guys had a little time to relax and take their minds off hockey for a while. With each game they were getting more nervous. They were all guilty of obsessively watching the scores from other games, to see where everyone else was in the standings. And now, they only had two more games until the Medal Round. One against Romania, and the other against West Germany. After those games, they would know when they would be playing the Soviets.
Herb tired to make the team concentrate on one game at a time, because they did have to make it to the Medal Round first. No matter what anyone admitted though, they were all thinking about their probable match up with the Soviets. The one thing the guys tried not to do though was watch the games other teams played against the Soviets. From the previous week in Madison Square Gardens, they knew what the team was capable of, and they didn't need any reminders.
A/N: Hope you all liked it. I know that Mark's injury really happened in the game against the Czechs, but with that game being Valentine's Day, there was already too much going on to have him get injured too. Also, as a side note, Eric Heiden and Mark Johnson really were friends. I was looking because I knew Heiden was from Madison, and I found out that they were childhood friends and Heiden went to his wedding (to his high school sweetheart) in real life. Neither of which I knew before I wrote this story. Just thought you would all like to know. Okay, now please review!! I'll really try harder to post sooner next time. There's only going to be like two chapters left though.